Christmas Party 2008

Had a great time at our Christmas party today! We finished up our Christmas projects and talked about Jesus' Birthday being Christmas day. A fine lesson for the kids :) We also sang a bunch of Chrismtas carols such as Jingle Bells, Here Comes Santa Claus, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, Frosty the Snowman, etc etc etc. We only had three kids cry this year when Santa walked in...but they all three quieted down as the children each took a turn telling Santa what they wanted for Christmas and getting a special treat from him. Grayden's talk had to be the absolute best...he started out by saying, "well, let me see what I want..." and he went on and on about a remote control dinosaur type thing and just when we think he is finished...we ask Grayden..."are you finished, Grayden?" and he answers, "oh no, I have more...." Grayden certainly made Santa Claus grin from ear to ear. What a cutie! And then there is Addy...cried as Santa came in...but wouldn't let him leave when it was time to go. She kept giving him hugs! We then let the kids open their gifts from Brenda and Cindy and loved listening to the squeals of delight. A big thank you to everyone for our gifts (me and Brenda) as well, from the kids. We have a great set of kids this year and we want you to know how much we appreciate each and every one of them! Thanks for giving us such good kids. We want to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday! We will resume circle time the week after New's Year's!!!

Ll week

This week we learned the letter Ll and words that begin with Ll such as ladder, lion and lemonade. We reviewed our letters again and shared what the kids brought for the letter Ll. Presley brought a nice Christmas book, "Little Lamb's Christmas," that we read. Addy brought a lion and Caedon brought Lightning McQueen for show and tell. Good ideas! We then sang "This Little Light of Mine" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" for Ll. The kids made lions with many things a lion can do...leap, learn, laugh and lay. They enjoyed making the lions. We then started working on our Christmas crafts for our parents. We will be having our Christmas party next Wednesday when a special visitor in a red suit will come!!! We won't be having a letter and will take a few weeks off from circle time. We will resume with the letter Mm after the new year. Until then...looking forward to our Christmas party and sharing the Christmas story with your children. It's always our favorite time of year!

Kk Week

This week was Kk week and we reviewed our letters as well. We talked about words that begin with kk such as kite and koala. We also shared what the kids brought. Briella wore a Hello Kitty shirt, Presley and Addy both brought kaleidoscopes and Konner and Karson brought themselves! We had Caedon's birthday planned so we quickly made a kangaroo with a pocket full of Kk words!!! We then celebrated Caedon's birthday with cupcakes! Thanks Caedon. Next week we will be working on the letter Ll so bring those Ll things. See you then!

Jj Week

This week was Jj wek and we reviewed all our letters. The kids are doing better but you should practice at home as well. We learned words that start with Jj such as jester, jelly beans and jar. Presley brought jewelry, Addy brought baby Jesus and Caedon brought a jar. I need to also make note that Briella brought an ice cream cone last week for Ii but got left out of our weekly update. Sorry, Briella. We sang some Jj songs..."Joy to the World," "Jesus Loves Me," and "5 Little Monkeys Jumpin on the bed." They enjoyed those songs...some were new but we had fun. We also did our Pledge of Allegiance and headed to the table to make our Jj craft. We made a jacket that opens to show many Jj words. We then made our turkeys for our Thanksgiving craft and the kids enjoyed filling them with candy! We again, talked about the first Thanksgiving and shared what we were thankful for. Next week we will not be having circle time but the following week we will learn the letter Kk so bring those Kk things! In the meantime, have a very Happy Thanksgiving. Please know we are thankful for your child and the individuality they bring to Brenda's home each week. We love them all!

Ii Week

This week was Ii week and we learned words starting with Ii such as igloo, ice cream and insect. Presley brought a cool book called "Inch by Inch" that we read. Konner also brought an Indy race car and an iguana. Caedon brought an Ii from Leapfrog that actually said what Ii sounds like. Very cool! We sang "Itsy Bitsy Spider" a few time and did our Pledge of Allegiance. We got to discuss Thanksgiving again and talked about the pilgrims and Indians. The kids had lots of fun making Indian Headresses for Ii! Next week we will learn the letter Jj so bring those Jj things!!!

Hh Week

This week we learned the letter Hh as well as reviewed all our letters. We learned some words that begin with Hh - hog and hat. The kids brought things that started with Hh. Caedon brought a Halloween toy, Addy brought a horse, Presley brought a hippo, Karson brought a horse and Konner brought the Hulk. Great ideas. We sang "If You're Happy and You Know It" and "The Bunny Hop" - which we had to do several dozens of times (haha). We also did the Pledge of Allegiance and the kids are doing good on memorizing this! We made hats to coordinate with Thanksgiving and talked about the first Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims. Look for us to incorporate other crafts for the holiday as we talk about this each week! The kids also finished their fall picture crafts. Some were harder to get good photos than others...but we hope you liked them! Next week we will learn the letter Ii so bring those Ii things!!!! See you then!

Halloween Party 2008

We had our Halloween party today and learned the letter Gg - for ghost, goat and guitar. The kids didn't bring anything for the letter Gg but we had fun making "foot" ghosts for our letter. We also reviewed all our letters and sang a couple of Halloween songs:

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate

The first one said "it's getting late."

The second one said "there are witches in the air."

The third one said "we don't care."

The fourth one said "halloween is fun."

The fifth one said "let's run run run."

Then out went the lights and five little pumpkins rolled out of sight!

and we sang,

I'm a witch (clap clap)

I'm a witch (clap clap)

With a tall pointed hat

And long fingernails

I'm a witch (clap clap)

I'm a witch (clap clap)

I will cast a spell on you!

We also played a pumpkin game of spelling out our names and "find the pumpkin."

Then it was picture time...that was fun! Afterwards, we proceeded outside to the garage where the real fun began...pinata time! And the kids loved all the candy!!!

Thank you to Shannon for bringing yummy cupcakes for a special treat after lunch...they were good! We hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween and we will be learning the letter Hh next week so bring those Hh things! Happy Halloween!!

Ff Week

Back to normal! We had circle time today and learned the letter Ff. We started circle time off with a surprise from Cindy...a fish for our fishbowl! The kids voted to call the fish "Dorothy." We reviewed all our letters thus far and shared what the kids brought....Presley brought a frog today and Addy brought two books which we read..."Five Little Ladybugs" and a Fish Book. Very cute! We sang "Have You Ever Seen A Fishy" that is sung to the tune of "Have you ever seen a lassie"
Have you ever seen a fishy, a fishy, a fishy
Have you ever seen a fishy swim this way and that?
Swim this way and that way and that way and this way
Have you ever seen a fishy swim this way and that?
We then made a fishbowl with pasted on fish and Ff words such as fan, fork, fire, feather, football, fox, four and firehat. The kids had so much fun making their fishbowls while watching Dorothy swim in her bowl. We also started making crafts for our Halloween party next Wednesday! We made eery bats and another special craft for our parents.
Our Halloween party is Wednesday and we will be having a letter Gg - for Ghost!!! Make sure your child brings a change of clothes and their costume for our party!!!! Looking forward to that one!!!

Dd and Ee Week

We had a crazy couple of weeks. Unfortunately, Cindy was unable to help out these past two weeks because of her work. We proceeded though and got through the letter Dd. Konner, Karson, Briella and Caedon brought dinosaurs. Presley and Addy brought a doctor kit and Caedon wore a dinosaur shirt. We made dinosaurs, sang some songs from previous letters and did our Pledge of Allegiance.
For Ee week Briella brought a purple elephant, Presley brought Horton the elephant, Addy brought Dumbo the elephant, and Caedon brought an egg and an etch a sketch. Together as a group we made a blue elephant and an elephant pull out. We sang songs and also did our Plege of Allegiance. Hopefully, we will be back to normal this week. I am sorry about the late postings but we will do better...just know we have not stopped circle time - it is still moving full speed ahead!

Cc is for Caps

We had a good time today with the letter Cc. We learned our letter and many of the kids brought caps for Cc as I asked them to do...Presley, Briella, Addy, Karson and Reese all wore caps! We also had some good ideas - and I mean, good this week ; ) - for Cc. Caedon brought candy and a car and himself, Konner brought cookies, Briella brought cupcakes, Karson brought a Cubs cap, Presley and Addy brought a cow, a computer, and Croakie to share. The kids made little caterpillars and we said our Caterpillar fingerplay...

Caterpillar, caterpillar, soft and furry

Winter's coming, better hurry.

Find a tree in which to creep

Spin a cocoon, fall fast asleep.

Spring will be here by and by

Soon you'll be a butterfly.

We also made cats with a cap sporting cute Cc words in it. Lastly, we did our Pledge of Allegiance and Caedon got to hold the flag. Here are pictures from today. Next week is Dd week so bring those Dd things!

Bb Week

We learned the letter Bb today and the kids brought LOTS of things to show for the letter Bb!!! Konner brought a Box of superheros including Batman, Buzz Lightyear and Blue superheros. Presley and Addy brought a Bear with a Boo shirt and a Bee. Briella brought herself, of course with her blanket. Karson brought his baboo and Buzz Lightyear and Caedon brought a backpack with Blue superheros. We sang the "Alligator" song which they love for Aa and we also sang "Baby Bumblebee." The kids like that one too! I also shared a basket full of Bb things - a baby, a bottle, a bandaid, a banana, a Barbie and a binky. Briella held our flag for the Pledge of Allegiance and we made little bear puppets. It was a good day!!! Next week we will be having Cc week and it will be "Cap" day so everyone should wear a cap for their heads!!!

Circle Time Begins With Aa Week

We started circle time again this year and we will most likely be having this day on Wednesdays. We started with the letter Aa this week and the kids brought some neat ideas for Aa. Konner brought an alarm clock, Briella and Presley brought apples and Addy brought herself and an alligator to show. The kids learned the letter through the week with Brenda and made an apple game where they had to identify words that begin with Aa. We also sang one of their favorite fingerplay songs..."Mr. Alligator." Ask your child to sing it for you! They love it! We then made little ants out of fingerpaint. One thing we will also be doing each week is the Pledge of Allegiance. Addy held the flag for us since she starts with the letter Aa. I want to be sure to have everyone's email also. The sign up sheet is at Brenda's house. Lastly, next week is Bb week and I am asking everyone to bring something that starts with the letter Bb. Thanks!! Looking forward to a new year of circle time!

Zz Week

We finally finished up our letters this week. Brenda had the kids finish their weekly pages to color with their letters and we will be letting the kids take them home today. We reviewed all our letters. Some of the kids do well, some just follow along, but that is good. At least they are trying. They all sit pretty well during circle time which is a good for preschool. We also reviewed our sign language. This was hard for some of the kids because we have such younger kids. They try and that's good. Presley and Addy brought zippers on their new coats for circle time. We talked about the sound Zz makes and some things that start with Zz such as zipper, zoo and zebra.
We also talked about colors and I actually tested the kids by having them color a picture and look for the specific color of crayon for each one they colored. Worked out well. Most of them know them well. Some kids had some confusion with the obvious...purple and blue, and orange and red. They will get it.
Next week we will be working on their addresses. Try to work on this with them at home this weekend.
It's been fun!
Thanks and have a great week!

Yy Week and Brenda's Belated Birthday

Today we finally were able to celebrate Brenda's birthday which was March 15. I know there was alot of confusion about when and if we were celebrating it and I apologize for that. Things have been hectic for me lately. Some kids, did however, give Brenda their gifts. She got chocolate from the South Bend Chocolate Factory, a pretty candle to light when the "babies poop," and outside clock, and a gift card to Walmart. Thanks so much to everyone for making her birthday special. I picked up a cake today and we got to have it for lunch. it was yummy!

The kids also learned the letter Yy and reviewed the previous letters. They are doing well, as usual. We also sang the alphabet song and we sang "Days of the Week" - it's been a while since we sang that last. We talked about things that started with Yy such as yarn and yellow jacket. Grayden brought a yo yo which the kids had a blast with, trying to get it to work for them. Grayden also piped up and said, "I also brought my 'yawn'" and he yawned real big for us. The kids thought that was funny so we all practiced our yawns. Presley brought a Yogi Bear backpack and we all took turns looking at that. The kids colored their weekly pictures and also made a Yy out of yarn. We won't be having circle time next week because of spring break but will learn our last letter, Zz, the following week. Have a wonderful week!

Xx Week

Today we had circle time and it seemed a little short...the letter I guess. Xx is always a hard one. We sang our alphabet song and reviewed all the letters. The kids are doing well. We also reviewed how to sign the letter Xx and how to make an Xx with our fingers. Then Presley shared her xylophone she brought for circle time. The kids enjoyed each taking a turn to play pretty music. We then made our craft - an X made of popsicle sticks. We also colored our weekly pictures to go in our folders. Next week we will be learning the letter Yy and we will also be celebrating Brenda's birthday which was March 15th. It will be belated : )
We will either celebrate on Tuesday or Wed. but will try to send out an email before hand. Thanks and have a great week!

Easter Week

We had such a good time coloring our bunnies for our egg bags! We sang "Here Comes Peter Cottontail" and talked about Easter. We used the colored eggs to our advantage to discuss colors. The kids are very good at recognizing their colors. We also watched an Easter video at lunch and got to celebrate Katie's birthday on top of our annual Easter Egg Hunt!!! FUN FUN FUN day!
Enjoy the slideshow of pictures.

Ww Week and Max's First Birthday

The kids got to celebrate Max's first birthday on Tuesday. Some kids were sick that day so we delayed circle time till Wednesday. Max had a great birthday!!!!We did circle time on Wednesday and went over all the letters we have learned thus far and colored our weekly pictures. We also shared what kids brought...Presley brought a wand and Grayden brought a windmill. Good things for Ww!!! We talked about things that start with Ww such as witch, watermelon, windows and wasp. The kids also did well reviewing how to do sign language. We then went into the kitchen to make watermelons to take home. Next week we will be celebrating Easter so no letter of the week next week.

Vv Week

This week Brenda had to do circle time alone because I was sick. Didn't want to bring any unnecessary germs. Brenda taught the kids to sign the letter Vv and colored their weekly pictures. Presley brought a veggie tales bag and a movie that the kids enjoyed watching. The kids talked about things that start with Vv such as vegetables, valentine, vampire and van. Brenda also had the kids make a valentine for their craft. Hopefully, I will be better next week and ready to go on Tuesday. We will learn the letter Ww so bring things that start with Ww.

Uu Week

This week was Uu week. Tuesday Brenda did circle time with the kids and let the kids color their weekly pictures. Presley brought Under the Sea books that they really loved reading. Today we reviewed our letters - signing them also. Not bad. We talked about things that start with Uu such as upside down, unicorn and umbrella. We then made our craft...an umbrella and the kids drew raindrops to finish it off. Next week we will be learning the letter Vv. Almost done with circle time...only a few letters left. We will continue circle time after the letters by working on colors and numbers. Thanks and have a great week!

Valentine's Day and Tt Week

For Valentine's Day last we celebrated with a fun party for the kids on Thursday. We made special bags for the Valentine's Day cards. The kids also made a cute little Valentine's pictures. Thanks to Shannon (Briella) for the yummy Red Velvet cake, Sherri (Katie) for the juice, and Sarah (Konner and Karson) for the cookies. The kids enjoyed passing out their goodies in the bags and had a great time eating all the yummy treats!

We have to apologize - these past few weeks have been crazy with snow days and Valentine's Day, etc. We just haven't been able to stay on a good schedule. We did learn the letter Tt today. We learned to sign it as well. The kids talked about things that start with Tt such as tiger and teddy bear. Grayden brought a very cool transformer and many Thomas the trains that start with Tt - Toad, Thomas, Toby and Trevor. Presley and Addy dressed as twins yesterday and Presley brought a couple of tractors too. The kids reviewed our letters and we reviewed how to sign them all. Not bad for having such a break between circle time days. The kids sang the alphabet song and we also sang "Mr. Turkey" as we made turkeys (out of our hands) for craft time.
Mr. Turkey
Mr. Turkey
Are you getting nice and fat,
We eat you at Thanksgiving,
What do you think of that!
Next week we will continue with the letter Uu. We usually do circle time on Tuesdays but sometimes do it on Wednesdays so if the kids bring something, they can always leave it in their cubby on Tuesday if we don't do circle time then. Thanks and have a great week!

Ss Week

Today we learned the letter Ss and some words that start with Ss such as snake and sailboat. Presley brought a neat book called "Snow Day, Hooray" - about Hello Kitty and the kids loved it. She also brought skibo from Jo Jo. Briella brought a seal. Grayden brought a Scooby Doo video and also wore a spiderman shirt. Grayden also brought cereal straws for everyone. Thanks Grayden! Katie brought a Scooby Doo letter book as well. We had fun singing for Ss songs such as "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," "Itsy Bitsy Spider," and "Frosty the Snowman." We made a picture of a snowman with a sled for our craft and colored our weekly pictures. Next week is Valentine's Day week. Here are the kids for Valentine's cards:
Katie
Presley
Addison
Grayden
Konner
Karson
Briella
Jeff
Max
Caedon
We will hand out Valentine's on Tuesday for circle time day and not do a letter next week.
Until then, have a great week.

Rr Week

Today we learned the letter Rr and words that start with Rr such as racoon and rocket. We reviewed all our letters and signed them. We also learned to sign the letter Rr (make a promise sign by crossing your two fingers). The kids did well with this one so hopefully they can show you when they go home. Grayden brought Rocky and Ramone to show, Konner brought a racecar and Presley brought Ratatouille for everyone to watch. Great ideas. We also established that Briella wore red for Rr and Jeff sported a rug burn on his head (poor Jeff) - for Rr. He enjoyed sharing the story about how he got it though. The kids colored their weekly pictures yesterday so we made a picture with raindrops - fitting for today since it is raining outside. We sang "It' Raining, It's Pouring...The Old Man is Snoring..."
We ended our circle time by celebrating Konner's birthday...Happy Birthday, Konner!
Next week we will learn the letter Ss so don't forget to bring those Ss things!

Qq Week

We had circle time today and learned about the letter Qq and words that start with Qq such as queen and quilt. We reviewed the letters and sang the alphabet song. The kids have been keeping up well with the letters. We also went over how to sign all the letters including Qq. They are doing well considering the kids are so young this year. They do enjoy trying though and sometimes they get them right. We sang "5 Little Ducks" -
5 little ducks went out to play
Over the hill and far away
Mother duck said
Quack Quack Quack
4 little ducks came waddling back....
Briella and Presley both brought Q-tips for show and tell and Presley also brought a picture of her dog, Queenie. Grayden wore a quarterback shirt and brought a quarter. Good ideas for the letter Qq. We also colored our weekly pictures as usual and we made a question mark on paper for our letter this week. Next week we will be learning the letter Rr so bring those Rr things to share!

Pp is for Party

Today we threw a party for Briella! This week was Pp week and Presley and Addison came in all cozy in their pajamas. We usually have a pajama party for Pp week but Brenda and I forgot this year. That's okay though, we had a party to celebrate. Presley brought herself and Addy and Presley both wore pajamas and pigtails. Grayden brought the best thing to play with...a piano. He sure likes to rock out on it! We learned to sign the letter Pp and colored our weekly picture. We then celebrated with Pizza and had a party for Briella. Happy Birthday, Briella!

Oo Week

I know some of you forgot that it was "back to circle time" week. We did have circle time today. We reviewed our letters and the kids did a good job of keeping up with the sign language for the amount of time we have had off. They follow along really well. We also reviewed all our letters thus far and learned the letter Oo and some words that start with Oo such as otter and olives. We read three books today...Presley brought two good ones..."Oh the Places You Will Go" and "On The Farm" where the kids got to use little magnetic animals to follow along with the story. Grayden also brought a cute book called "Owen." Grayden also wore a shirt that had an owl on it. Briella brought an orange to show too. Good ideas! After we reviewed our letters we talked about Christmas and some of the things Santa brought them. It sounds like everyone had a great time being off with their families. We then made ovens and I tried to encourage the kids to draw their favorite food inside the oven. Some did, some just had fun coloring. Next week we will learn the letter Pp so don't forget to bring things that start with Pp. Have a good week!